I have been playing with some bagel recipes lately. I love how dense and doughy they are and how they can be such a sturdy foundation for awesome condiments.

One notable step in this bagel development process was a Montreal style, everything bagel with a dill cream cheese spread that I served for a family Christmas brunch. It was good conceptually but I had relied too heavily on a recipe from a New Yorker. As anyone from Montreal or New York will tell you, there is mega debate over who makes the better bagel. Regardless of who does it better, never trust one to supply a good recipe for the other’s bagel. They were too dense and the cooking temp and time were all wrong. The condiment had potential but needed a bit more kick.

Mustard.

I started planning a spread that had more kick and as a mustard lover, I landed on a butter based, grainy mustard spread. Working backwards, my mind immediately lead me to soft pretzels which became the foundation for my pretzel bagel.

This is a tested recipe as I have already served them with great reviews to my blogging friend over at The Maple Cutting Board. I had a little Farwell brunch for she and her husband before they embark on a cross country move. This is bittersweet as it means you will all have to wait with me for our next collaboration in the late spring. In the mean time, give her blog some love!!

Now on to the recipe:

Everything Pretzel Bagels

Everything Topping:

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp dehydrated onion flakes

1 Tbsp dehydrated garlic flakes

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

Pretzel Bagel:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp quick rise yeast

5 cups flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup warm milk

3 quarts water

5 Tbsp baking soda

1/4 cup melted butter

Mustard and Dill Butter:

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp grainy mustard

2 Tbsp finely chopped dill

1 Tbsp minced capers

Mix all topping ingredients together and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix warm water and yeast.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar.

Add flour mixture and warm milk to mixer and mix until dough comes together and is no longer sticky.

Cover with a clean, damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size. Approx. 30 mins.

Punch down dough and divide into 8 equal balls.

Roll each dough ball into a long rope, about 24″, fold in half and twist. Pinch ends together to form a braided bagel.

Preheat oven to 475F.

Bring three quarts of water to a boil. Add baking soda.

Working in batches of two or three, drop bagels into boiling water and boil for one minute.

Remove from water, place of baking sheet, brush with butter, and sprinkle with topping to coat.

When all bagels are on baking sheet, bake until golden brown, 15-20mins.

To make mustard butter, cream all ingredients together. Serve as a spread on cooled bagels or melted to dip warm bagels.